After weeks of bad weather, full moons when it wasn't, and a string of colds, I finally got out under a clear, dark sky. I used the star Mirach to check the alignment, and adjust the focussing. I was initially puzzled by a nearby fuzzy star. I thought it might be a comet, but it wasn't on any list. It briefly crossed my mind that it might be an undiscovered comet. However upon checking the star atlas it turned out to be a galaxy. It is called NGC 404, or better known as "Mirach's Ghost". It is 11th magnitude, and bright Mirach can sometimes drown it out, but it was clearly visible on this occasion. A set of 6 x 30sec exposures was used from a batch using a Canon DSLR. The galaxy is the blue fuzzy top right of the bright orange Mirach.

I use an 11" Celestron SCT (CPC 1100) on an equatorial wedge, housed in a 2.2m Pulsar observatory. I use a ZWO ASI1600MC and Canon 500D for imaging.

Reminds me of an exceptionally clear night when I thought that M92 was going to be known as "Pugh's Comet". Thanks to Messrs. Messier and Mechain for saving me from embarrassment! It's not that I hadn't see it before, I'd just never seen it that bright.

How can I be one with the universe when we don't know what 96% of it is.